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NEWS ABOUT: Roman Catholic Church

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Pope Greeted by Protesters Upon Arrival in Germany

Four-day visit is first state visit to his homeland

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI is back home for his first state visit to Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Christian Wulff, and Cabinet members met the pontiff upon his arrival at a Berlin airport today, the first of his four-day visit, as howitzers fired and fighter jets flew overhead. He is also... More »

Some Catholics Still Say Galileo Was Wrong

Conservatives tie astronomer's ideas to moral decline

(Newser) - Not only did Roman Catholics arrest Galileo for saying the Earth revolves around the sun—a handful of them still insist he was wrong. It's a small movement, but a few conservative Roman Catholics are turning to Church teachings and a dozen Bible verses as proof of a geocentric... More »

Vatican Releases Sex Abuse Files

Holy See denies accusations of cover-up of abusive priest in 1960s

(Newser) - The Vatican attempted to rebut claims it has been covering up sexual abuse by a priest in the United States in the 1960s by releasing files of its internal investigation on the Internet yesterday, reports the Wall Street Journal . The alleged victim filed suit against the Vatican in a federal... More »

Angry Vatican Excommunicates Chinese Bishop

Says Benedict alone has right to appoint bishops

(Newser) - The Vatican has excommunicated a newly ordained bishop in China's Catholic Church, reports Reuters, peeved that the Beijing church went ahead and ordained the Rev. Joseph Huang Bingzhang without papal approval. The Vatican maintains that Pope Benedict alone has the right to name bishops; Beijing sees that as foreign... More »

Vatican Back in the Black

Church pulls in $14.3M, makes profit for first time in three years

(Newser) - Good news: The Vatican returned to the black last year, after three straight years in the red. The Catholic Church pulled in $14.3 million, it said in its annual financial report today, while the Vatican city state made $30.6 million, fueled largely by ticket sales at the Vatican... More »

One Episcopal Congregation Converting to Catholicism

St. Luke's Parish-Anglican will get new name, but keep married pastor

(Newser) - Parishioners of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Maryland arrived at services Sunday and got an unexpected sermon: Rev. Mark Lewis informed the congregation that he and other church leaders wanted the entire parish to convert to Catholicism. “We didn’t know for sure how people would react,”... More »

Vatican Sacks Bishop Who Wanted Women Priests

William Morris also argued church should consider ordaining married men

(Newser) - An Australian bishop claims the Roman Catholic church sacked him because he advocated the ordaining of women and married men. The Vatican confirmed today that Bishop William Morris had been "removed from pastoral care" by Pope Benedict XVI, and Morris claims the ouster was a result of a 2006... More »

John Paul Is No Saint

Remember that whole pedophilia scandal he ignored?

(Newser) - On this Easter, Maureen Dowd turns to another resurrection of sorts next Sunday: The beatification of Pope John Paul II, or "PR boost" that Pope Benedict hopes to get from the "swiftest ascension toward sainthood on record." And while there was much to love about the "... More »

Cardinal to Ricky Martin: Stop Promoting Homosexuality

He should 'set an example' for his children, cardinal says

(Newser) - Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a fan of Ricky Martin's "artistic gifts," but he sure wishes the singer would stop promoting homosexuality. In an interview with Primera Hora published last week and picked up yesterday by On Top magazine and Perez Hilton , Martinez... More »

John Paul Hits Facebook

Part of Vatican's social-networking push

(Newser) - Sure, Pope John Paul II is set to be beatified, but now he's even on Facebook. The Vatican, continuing its efforts to get hip with the kids, is unveiling a Facebook page to hype the late pope's May 1 beatification, featuring video highlights of his 27 years as pontiff. The... More »

Pope: Marriage Is Not a Right

Benedict wants better pre-marital counseling to reduce annulments

(Newser) - Marriage isn't a God-given right and it's not just for any schmuck, Pope Benedict said yesterday in an annual speech to the Vatican's tribunal that rules on annulments. "No one can make a claim to the right to a nuptial ceremony," he said. The pontiff also urged priests... More »

Pope Names 24 New Cardinals

... Who will elect his successor

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI named 24 new cardinals today, the third time during his tenure that he has added to the body of "princes of the church" who will eventually name his successor, reports the AP. The group is mostly Italian, spurring speculation that the papacy could swing back to... More »

Pope Honors 'Courageous' Brits Who Resisted Nazis

Acknowledges personal experience for first time

(Newser) - On the 70th anniversary of the Nazis' attack on the British mainland, Pope Benedict paid homage to Britons who "courageously" resisted "the forces of that evil ideology" in an open-air Mass today near Coventry, which was shelled heavily. "For me as one who lived and suffered through... More »

Pope 'Penitent' About Sex Abuse

Makes first ever papal visit to England

(Newser) - Pope Benedict made the first papal visit ever to the UK today, but the occasion was overshadowed by questions about the church’s history of sexual abuse. In response to written questions from reporters aboard his plane, Benedict admitted some Vatican culpability, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It’s... More »

Pope Aide Skips UK Trip After '3rd World' Jab

Also said BA discriminates against those wearing crosses

(Newser) - A top aide to Pope Benedict is skipping tomorrow's trip to Britain after telling a German magazine that "when you land at Heathrow you think at times you have landed in a Third World country." As the BBC reports, German-born Cardinal Walter Kasper said the UK, where the... More »

Iceland Legalizes Gay Marriage

Parliament unanimously approves redefinition of marriage

(Newser) - With little fanfare, Iceland's parliament unanimously passed a resolution legalizing gay marriage today, Reuters reports . The Althingi voted 49-0 to add mention of unions between "man and man" and "woman and woman" to the legal definition of marriage. Iceland's tolerance for homosexuality is well known—PM Johanna Sigurdardottir... More »

Pope Begs Forgiveness Over Priest Sex Abuse

But he defends celibacy for clergy

(Newser) - Pope Benedict today asked "forgiveness from God" and the children abused by Catholic priests, and promised that the Catholic Church would "do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again." At a gathering of some 15,000 Catholic clergy in Rome to mark the... More »

Pope: Church Must Face Abuse's 'Terrifying' Truth

Catholicism dogged by 'sin within'

(Newser) - The Catholic Church must finally face the "terrifying" truth of clerical sex abuse, says Pope Benedict in what Reuters notes are perhaps his most frank comments since the scandal broke two months ago. Catholicism's greatest threat, he told reporters aboard a flight to Lisbon, is no longer enemies from... More »

Pope Finally Talks Sex Abuse—Sort Of

Benedict says Church must do 'penance'

(Newser) - He might not have mentioned it explicitly, but Pope Benedict has apparently broken his deafening silence on the sex abuse scandals roiling the Catholic Church. The comments, which called for the church to do "penance" for its "sins," came in a homily delivered in the papal palace,... More »

Hey Benedict, Maybe You'll Listen to a Man

'Times' scribe turns column over to brother

(Newser) - Maureen Dowd suspends her blitzkrieg on Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church today and—because the all-boys network apparently is unable "to take a woman’s voice seriously"—turns her column over to her conservative, creche-collecting, "Vatican-II-made-me-wince" brother, Kevin. But a Dowd is a Dowd, and the... More »

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